| askance |
with distrust or suspicion. |
| augury |
the art or practice or an instance of predicting the future or obtaining hidden knowledge by interpreting omens. |
| avow |
to assert or affirm. |
| burgeon |
to start to grow; send forth shoots, leaves, buds, or the like (often followed by "out" or "forth"). |
| colloquialism |
a word or phrase typically used in conversational, informal, or regional speech or writing, hence sometimes considered inappropriate in formal writing. |
| declivity |
a downward or descending slope. |
| discountenance |
to embarrass or disconcert. |
| facetious |
not serious; humorous or frivolous. |
| gadfly |
a persistent critic, especially of established institutions and policies. |
| internecine |
of or pertaining to conflict, discord, or struggle within a group. |
| knurled |
having small ridges. |
| obscurantism |
a deliberate lack of clarity or directness of expression, as in certain styles of art or literature. |
| otiose |
having no purpose or use; unnecessary or futile. |
| shyster |
a person, usually a lawyer, who uses underhanded, unethical methods. |
| uxorious |
excessively or foolishly devoted to one's wife, and often thereby submissive to her. |